The Benefits Of A Diverse Team

Diversity in the workforce involves hiring people from different cultures, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, races, religious affiliations, viewpoints, gender, education, personalities, skills, and so on. But it also goes beyond filling in gaps within brackets and balancing out ratios.

Why is diversity in the workplace so crucial? And why is hiring a diverse workforce critical to the success of a business?

Being intentional about making diversity in the workplace a priority can lead to many different benefits. Here are just a few of them.

Bigger talent, skill, and creativity pool

As humans, there are a lot of things that are similar about us, but at the end of the day, we are all still our own person and can bring many different things to the table.

Hiring people with different personalities, from different backgrounds and at different stages in their career can help foster creativity and offer a range of ideas and perspectives. 

Having a wide range of people coming from different places and experiences within the team can also mean team members can learn plenty from each other.

Creativity and Innovation

Working with people who have different skills, working styles, and viewpoints can give rise to worthwhile creative concepts from bouncing ideas off of each other and offering suggestions and different perspectives.

Where one team member might be great at coming up with exciting and creative ideas, another might have the necessary technical skills to execute them. That’s why it’s essential to play on each individual’s strengths and foster collaboration within teams. 

And with diversity in the mix, your team can become more creative and more adaptable to change. 

Better ROI

Diversity can also impact your company’s bottom line and can lead to a better return on investment. According to McKinsey & Company, they analysed 366 public companies across a range of industries. 

They found out that those that were in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity were 35% more likely to have financial returns that exceeded their national industry medians. While those that were in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15% more likely to go above financial performances in their industry medians. 

You might be wondering what’s at play here. While there might be a lot, a big piece of the puzzle is definitely improved decision-making.

Teams that are more diverse are less likely to be prone to groupthink (the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility), they can look at facts from different views and perspectives, then make better choices from there. 

Better employee recruitment and improved retention

It’s not just employers who have made diversity a point of their focus, employees are doing the same when they’re on the lookout for potential companies to work for. 

As a matter of fact, according to a September 2020 Glassdoor survey, 76% of job seekers consider diversity an important factor when considering companies and job offers.

And beyond getting top talent through your door, diversity and inclusion can also go a long way in keeping top talent in your company. A 2018 Deloitte survey found that 69% of employees see their workplace as more motivating and stimulating when their leadership teams are more diverse.

Ready to hire a diverse team of great individuals?

Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.